And today's commuting highlight is...

[kiethton]

After fitting the new battery (in the office car park!) I've been back on the bike for a week or 2 now - so much better!

Even managed to overtake a white panda 100hp with a PH sticker on the back the other day!

As others have said lets hope the rain holds off for the ride home (and it warms up a little!)

[GSA_fattie]

trip to the north east for work via YDNP then back via a69, a686 and then the m6
someone split diesel on the hartside pass making for a tricky ride towards penrith
cold with snow, rain windy but not as bad as it has been still using heated gear
allowed up to 6000 rpm thank goodness as 4000 rpm was not even 70 mph on the motorway

[airsafari87]

GSA_fattie said:

trip to the north east for work via YDNP then back via a69, a686 and then the m6
someone split diesel on the hartside pass making for a tricky ride towards penrith
cold with snow, rain windy but not as bad as it has been still using heated gear
allowed up to 6000 rpm thank goodness as 4000 rpm was not even 70 mph on the motorway

Parklife

[black-k1]

GSA_fattie said:

trip to the north east for work via YDNP then back via a69, a686 and then the m6
someone split diesel on the hartside pass making for a tricky ride towards penrith
cold with snow, rain windy but not as bad as it has been still using heated gear
allowed up to 6000 rpm thank goodness as 4000 rpm was not even 70 mph on the motorway

Not the ideal day but I hope the bike did it's job well. Any bike related complaints (beyond having to run it in)?

I checked mine yesterday and with the 19/42 gearing 70mph is exactly 4,000rpm.

[black-k1]

black-k1 said:

Highlight of today is that I'm commuting! First time this year on the bike and fk, it was cold this morning!

Every time I ride into London there are new 20mph limits! What was telling on the A11/Bow Rd this morning was that everyone, including the buses and the marked police car, were ignoring the 20 limit and doing 30mph - except at the speed camera!

I hope the dry weather holds for the ride home this evening.

I got rained on a little leaving London but the highlight was turning off the A120 at Gt. Dunmow and coming home through Finchingfield. For those that don't know the area, these are lovely roads, through some very pretty villages, making for a very enjoyable ride.

[stu67]

black-k1 said:

black-k1 said:

Highlight of today is that I'm commuting! First time this year on the bike and fk, it was cold this morning!

Every time I ride into London there are new 20mph limits! What was telling on the A11/Bow Rd this morning was that everyone, including the buses and the marked police car, were ignoring the 20 limit and doing 30mph - except at the speed camera!

I hope the dry weather holds for the ride home this evening.

I got rained on a little leaving London but the highlight was turning off the A120 at Gt. Dunmow and coming home through Finchingfield. For those that don't know the area, these are lovely roads, through some very pretty villages, making for a very enjoyable ride.

Nice part of the world, not too far from you in Welwyn Garden City. You are right about the 20 speed limits they are everywhere now, they are just re signing the whole length of the Holloway Rd down from Archway. To be honest it's all a bit pointless as you know where the camera's are. They would be better off saving lives by stopping most of the cyclists jumping reds, but presume that's too difficult. Anyway at least they seem to be finishing up Old Street ex roundabout after about 3 years

[Axionknight]

Potholes! The state of the Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire roads at the moment.... ye gads!

[kiethton]

Axionknight said:

Potholes! The state of the Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire roads at the moment.... ye gads!

They're horrific in London also

Separately I had the rear brake stick on during my ride in today, thankfully got it unstuck but another thing to add to the list of "need to do's" this weekend

[KTMsm]

GSA_fattie said:

allowed up to 6000 rpm thank goodness as 4000 rpm was not even 70 mph on the motorway

Do you still need to run them in ?

I did the Triumph Factory Tour and they dyno all their bikes before they send them out - it's a cold start then full revs on the dyno within a minute of starting - from brand new

Seems a bit pointless to run them in if that's what they all go through in the first minute of life

[Se7enheaven]

Axionknight said:

Potholes! The state of the Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire roads at the moment.... ye gads!

Yep I’m in Aberdeenshire and it’s absolutely tragic at the moment. The ones they do fill seem to be done from the back of a moving lorry. There is no way they will get on top of it this Summer ,so I dread to think how bad the roads are going to get after another winter. I’ve travelled in developing countries that have better roads than us !

[black-k1]

KTMsm said:

GSA_fattie said:

allowed up to 6000 rpm thank goodness as 4000 rpm was not even 70 mph on the motorway

Do you still need to run them in ?

I did the Triumph Factory Tour and they dyno all their bikes before they send them out - it's a cold start then full revs on the dyno within a minute of starting - from brand new

Seems a bit pointless to run them in if that's what they all go through in the first minute of life

It's what's recommended by Kawasaki and given the cost and complexity of the bike, it seems like a good idea to follow the manufacturers recommendations!

[the cueball]

Impressive morning for me,

2 x SMIDSY... a flat bed in a 20 zone pulled right out in front of me from a side road - one hand on his phone, the other with a breakfast roll of some kind, and a brand new Range Rover - although I suspect they saw me well enough, just their tiny ego didn't like the thought of a bike overtaking them so they decided to try and cut the corner... but I let it slide.. it was only 2.5kg heading for me at 40 odd miles an hour.

2 x I'm driving really slow, oh st there is a bike I'm going to show him how awesome and race car like I am... both VW Polos, one a "gti" no less... muppets... trying to speed up and keep me behind them in their rolling road block.

and to finish it off, going through some road works 4 x very nice, awake people that moved their vehicle slightly over so that I could filter through with less fuss.

So yeah.. some ups and downs for sure...

[black-k1]

the cueball said:

Impressive morning for me,

2 x SMIDSY... a flat bed in a 20 zone pulled right out in front of me from a side road - one hand on his phone, the other with a breakfast roll of some kind, and a brand new Range Rover - although I suspect they saw me well enough, just their tiny ego didn't like the thought of a bike overtaking them so they decided to try and cut the corner... but I let it slide.. it was only 2.5kg heading for me at 40 odd miles an hour.

2 x I'm driving really slow, oh st there is a bike I'm going to show him how awesome and race car like I am... both VW Polos, one a "gti" no less... muppets... trying to speed up and keep me behind them in their rolling road block.

and to finish it off, going through some road works 4 x very nice, awake people that moved their vehicle slightly over so that I could filter through with less fuss.

So yeah.. some ups and downs for sure...

You win some, you lose some! You arrived safely so, overall, a win!

[Neal H]

Yeah, it’s nice when people move over a bit to make room. I always raise a hand as a thank you.

[stu67]

yep always say thank you to those moving over as they seem to be aware of what's going on around them unlike the other 99%

[GSA_fattie]

black-k1 said:

KTMsm said:

GSA_fattie said:

allowed up to 6000 rpm thank goodness as 4000 rpm was not even 70 mph on the motorway

Do you still need to run them in ?

I did the Triumph Factory Tour and they dyno all their bikes before they send them out - it's a cold start then full revs on the dyno within a minute of starting - from brand new

Seems a bit pointless to run them in if that's what they all go through in the first minute of life

It's what's recommended by Kawasaki and given the cost and complexity of the bike, it seems like a good idea to follow the manufacturers recommendations!

i agree i watched a programme about Ducati and they did the same – ran it through every gear on a rolling road
its run in now, first service done, so didn’t take long,

bloody windy still which takes the edge off the sun

[NNH]

stu67 said:

yep always say thank you to those moving over as they seem to be aware of what's going on around them unlike the other 99%

One of the (few?) good things about Californian drivers is that they are good at making room for bikes.

[GSA_fattie]

black-k1 said:

GSA_fattie said:

trip to the north east for work via YDNP then back via a69, a686 and then the m6
someone split diesel on the hartside pass making for a tricky ride towards penrith
cold with snow, rain windy but not as bad as it has been still using heated gear
allowed up to 6000 rpm thank goodness as 4000 rpm was not even 70 mph on the motorway

Not the ideal day but I hope the bike did it's job well. Any bike related complaints (beyond having to run it in)?

I checked mine yesterday and with the 19/42 gearing 70mph is exactly 4,000rpm.

how od you ifnd chian stretch and are you doing your own adjustment\/

do you use the ducati spanner to adjust the slack - some say that is the best fit/most compatable

[black-k1]

GSA_fattie said:

black-k1 said:

GSA_fattie said:

trip to the north east for work via YDNP then back via a69, a686 and then the m6
someone split diesel on the hartside pass making for a tricky ride towards penrith
cold with snow, rain windy but not as bad as it has been still using heated gear
allowed up to 6000 rpm thank goodness as 4000 rpm was not even 70 mph on the motorway

Not the ideal day but I hope the bike did it's job well. Any bike related complaints (beyond having to run it in)?

I checked mine yesterday and with the 19/42 gearing 70mph is exactly 4,000rpm.

how od you ifnd chian stretch and are you doing your own adjustment\/

do you use the ducati spanner to adjust the slack - some say that is the best fit/most compatable

I've done over 25k miles and I'm still on the original chain. I have a ScottOiler fitted and that seems to make a huge difference.

I think the bike was almost at 18k miles before I had to do my first bit of chain adjustment as the servicing and tyre changing had always arrived at the right time to include chain adjustment.

I have the Ducati C spanner and have used it a few times. Other than the fact that spanner needs to be turned the opposite way to they way my brain says it should, so I always end up slackening first, it's a pretty easy process. After all, all your doing is moving the hub, so there's no alignment issues.

[GSA_fattie]

black-k1 said:

GSA_fattie said:

black-k1 said:

GSA_fattie said:

trip to the north east for work via YDNP then back via a69, a686 and then the m6
someone split diesel on the hartside pass making for a tricky ride towards penrith
cold with snow, rain windy but not as bad as it has been still using heated gear
allowed up to 6000 rpm thank goodness as 4000 rpm was not even 70 mph on the motorway

Not the ideal day but I hope the bike did it's job well. Any bike related complaints (beyond having to run it in)?

I checked mine yesterday and with the 19/42 gearing 70mph is exactly 4,000rpm.

how od you ifnd chian stretch and are you doing your own adjustment\/

do you use the ducati spanner to adjust the slack - some say that is the best fit/most compatable

I've done over 25k miles and I'm still on the original chain. I have a ScottOiler fitted and that seems to make a huge difference.

I think the bike was almost at 18k miles before I had to do my first bit of chain adjustment as the servicing and tyre changing had always arrived at the right time to include chain adjustment.

I have the Ducati C spanner and have used it a few times. Other than the fact that spanner needs to be turned the opposite way to they way my brain says it should, so I always end up slackening first, it's a pretty easy process. After all, all your doing is moving the hub, so there's no alignment issues.

thanks, clearly i was not concentrating when i wrote that - all the right letters just in the wrong order

i had many issues with Scott oiler on the zzr as the H2 has a centre stand i am happy to use a rattle can